cigarettes
by MedusaStein
Summary: everything is over, Medusa is alive and back on her feet. Stein is recovering and trying to make things happen with Marie. But what would happen if Medusa just.. interjected?
1. Chapter 1

It was long past midnight when she arrived, her soul wavelengths obscured by the spell she had perfected over the years. This way, nobody would detect her, nobody would know. She walked the path she had walked many times before in silence, her bare feet making no sound against the floors of Death City. When they had carried her to her destination, she stopped. In front of a home she had visited countless times. This time she would knock, and hope he answered.

As she extended her hand to knock, the door suddenly burst open, and in a second she was abruptly swiped off her feet and thrusted inside by two strong hands. In the blink of an eye she found herself pinned to the nearest wall, stitches surrounding her body, preventing her from moving. The witch looked up, grinning at the man who had stitched her to the wall. He was tall, leaning against the now closed door holding a cigarette between his lips, his face hidden by the shadows.

"Nice to see you too, Stein."

~~_hello everyone! i'm new to all this fanfiction writing, but i hope y'all like this ittle experiment i've come up with_.. _this is only the begining, my fellow weapon meisters,by now, y'all probably know what this'll be about, but i promise not to make it predictable. enjoy. _

_~all my love, _**Medusa-sama**


	2. Chapter 2

She said no more, and he made no effort to detach her from the wall. After a few moments in complete silence, he walked up to her, slowly.

"Why are you here?" He whispered to her. His face so close, he could hear her steady breaths.

An arrow shot from medusa's body, she did not, however, puncture him. instead she let it caress his cheek, cutting it slightly, then withdrawing it back into her body.

"I'm not here to hurt you" she whispered to him, a whisper so soft, even she could barely hear it.

Stein looked at the witch he had pinned against the wall of his home. Her eyes were not the eyes of a killer, or an enemy. She looked at him with something special, something he could not name. But he was persistent, and did not detach her from the wall, the strings woven from parts of her soul paralyzed her, trapping her against the wall, vulnerable.

He was starting to feel it, weariness from the stitches he placed on her. He had to let her go soon.

"I can feel it, stein. You're starting to get weary." She cooed.

Stein looked up at her, at medusa, the witch who had brought chaos to Death city not long ago. His glasses flashed, and he let her go. As soon as the stitches left her body, his arms were there to replace them.

"Why. Are you. Here." He repeated In a harsh whisper.

"Stein, I'm surprised at your anger, what have I ever done to deserve this kind of treatment from you?" Medusa was a deceiver. And stein couldn't stand her playing innocent. She was medusa, she was a _witch_.

She leaned her face towards his, so that her mouth was next to his ear.

"Let me go" she whispered.

He released his firm grip on her tiny arms, and she fell to the ground, the hood of her jacket falling on her head, her face covered by darkness. She grinned. Stein turned his back on her, and started to walk, now that she was free, she moved quick, catching up to him and placing a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"I want a word with you." She said.

"We have nothing to discuss. you, a witch, and I, a weapon meister. What could we ever talk about?" He replied, not turning around to met her gaze.

The witch leaned in, stood on her bare toes to rest her head on his shoulders and whispered in his ear,

"Crona."

Stein stood still, not responding to the witch's request. He knew she was lying, she didn't care for the child, she did not want to talk about it. She wanted him, she wanted stein.

He decided to play along and went ahead and asked her:

"What about the child..?"

Still not turning around, knowing he would find the same deceitful being he let go just a moment ago.

"I want to see him" she said.

That caught stein off guard, was she serious? Did she really want to see her son?

But the questions were already answered.

She did not, and just like him, she was playing along.

He turned around, making medusa back up from him. His glasses flashed once more, he took a step towards her and whispered

"Liar."

The witch did not look offended by his words. She knew it was true, she could care less about the child, he was just an experiment, she didn't need him anymore. She looked up at the doctor with a grin on her face and asked:

"Am I really that transparent?"

"Or do you just know me that well?"

His hand moved, slapping he left cheek. Hard. He did not hesitate, he did not think.

She fell to the floor, cupping her left cheek. Her hood lifted from her face, exposing her damaged cheek.

And for the first time in her life,

Medusa cried.

_hello lovelies, thanks to the eight people who read the first chapter, it made my morning. here's chaptr 2, for those of you who want to follow. please please PLEASE review, favorite, and follow, it only gets better from here xx_

_~all my love __**Medusa-sama**_


	3. Chapter 3

Stein stood still. He exhaled a last puff of smoke and let the dying cigarette fall to his feet, extinguishing it with the sole of his shoe.

"You have no right to speak of Crona." He spat at her.

Stein turned his back to her once more and walked towards the door. He wanted her out. Out of his house, out if the city, out of his life.

The snake would not give in easily. She stood, wiping her tear stained face with the back of her dried hands. She walked toward him as his hand began to turn the door knob.

With all the strength the snake had, she turned him over, so that he was now facing her, griped the collar of his lab coat, crushing his lips into hers.

Stein did nothing. Too stunned to respond. He did not kiss her back.

They stood still, lips crushed together, Medusa pinning Stein to the closed door. He did not let go of the door knob, The anger within him erupted, making him squeeze the door knob harder, turning the inside of his hands paler than usual.

She let go of his lab coat, separating their lips. The snake looked up. Stein looked neither disgusted nor pleased. His face engrossed in complete uttermost shock. She took this as a good sign. It was better than rejection.

Their eyes locked with each other. Stein's looked surprised, as if he still couldn't believe it.

Medusa's were harder to read. They looked.. Sincere. Still red and swollen from earlier tears.

"I'm not here to hurt you." Medusa cried out once more, pushing the doctor aside and darting out the door, silent sobs escaping her lips.

Stein stood still. Staring at the open door, not being able to respond to anything that had just happened.

Nobody could know. Of that, he was sure.

Once over the stock of Medusa's kiss, he sat on his lab chair and took out a new cigarette from his pocket, lighting it and resting it between his lips, the ones Medusa had kissed.

He didn't know what he would do. She couldn't come back. The kiss meant nothing to him. He said it over and over in his head. Even so, it was hard to believe. They had once been close, but she brought in further madness. The kiss meant nothing. Absolutely. Nothing.

Medusa ran as fast as her legs could carry her, through the many streets and alleys in Death City. She thought seeing him wouldn't affect her. She promised it wouldn't. But even the greatest witch cannot control feeling as strong as the ones she felt for stein. She was still uncertain of her feelings towards him. Whatever it was, it's wasn't only affection. She felt more.

The witch stopped at the outskirts of Death City, out of breath, her tears no longer there.

The only thought on her mind was _him_. Stein. His lips. The ones that tasted like cigarettes.

_heyooo everyone! thank you all for continuing with the story, your support is much apreciated. My updates won't always be coming this fast, but i'll try my best to keep up :) please please PLEASE review! tell me how bad i'm doing and what your thoughts are so far. thank ya'll for being so wonderful. _

_~all my love, __**Medusa-sama**_


	4. Chapter 4

**so sorry for updating so late. I promise to make my chapters bigger and better but here's a bone you can chew on for a while. Dis chapter be 4 Dorcey c; enjoy, my dear weapons and weapon meisters!**

* * *

Stein leaned against the solid door, head tilted up looking at the stitching patterns plastered across the ceiling.

Why was she here? School had just started from summer vacation. Was this just a random visit? He didn't allow his mind to dwell on it for too long, he was already getting a head ache.  
The doctor decided to take a seat on one of the couches in the living room, this one an unusually bright shade of purple, Marie's work. He wasn't all too bothered by it, it was just a bit unusual for the gray, black, and white shades of his house. He sat, lit another cigarette and pondered for a while.  
Was Medusa really back? If so, for how long? He could only think of poor Crona. The poor misunderstood, motherly deprived child.

Marie came not long after, bringing with her a few grocery bags.  
"Stein, would you mind..?" Marie called. The doctor stood, his mind not focused on the groceries Marie was offering for him to put away. He carelessly took them and dropped them in the dinner table, spilling their contents onto the table top. Marie shrieked, the sound of cans and glass jars hitting against each other surprising her.  
"STEIN!" She hollered, causing him to look sideways at her, eyes distant.  
She crossed the room and grabbed him by the shoulders, staring into his eyes, noticing for the fist time that his mind was obviously not on her, never mind the groceries.  
She cupped his cheek with her right hand.  
"Darling.." She cooed.  
His pupils slowly dilated, bringing his mind into the present.

He was standing. why?  
Marie was standing less than a foot in front of him, when had she gotten here? He turned to examine the room he was standing in. They were in the dining room, the table, he noticed, had groceries spilled across its surface.  
Marie turned his head to an angle where he was again facing her, reminding Stein of the small distance between the two if them.  
"You have to spend less time alone, darling, I'm afraid it's taking a toll on you." Marie said, walking towards the table to gather the mess.  
He didn't apologize right away, he was still trying to grasp his surroundings. As soon as he saw Marie struggle, he came to her aid.  
"My apologies, Marie. My mind is far from groceries." Stein said, looking down at the weapon, eyes wide. Eyes in the present.  
She smiled understandingly at the doctor. But she knew he needed company, and rest.  
Once the groceries were tidily put away (as Marie preferred it) they broke away to do their own things for their class (stein trying to figure out which rare species to dissect with the children next.)  
As the hour turned late, both the Weapon and her Meister bid each other a goodnight. Taking their places in the bright purple couch, and the bed, which was once dressed in stitched- patterned blankets and pillows, now a tidy work of floral print.

* * *

She didn't go far. Just far enough away from death city, into the desert. she didn't want to go any further.

The only though on her mind was still stein. She felt an attraction towards that man. Something about him. That's why she'd asked him to join her.  
She thought of the madness she had infected him with, at the moment, when she needed him, she had enjoyed that feeling. The feeling of having power over him. But now, things were different. His pain was a pain for her too. And she didn't like the feeling. The vulnerability that came with it. It was a strange sensation. And one she did not like.  
Knowing she wouldn't go back to death city for a few days, she sat in the sand, the snakes coming from her hood lifting her from the hot sand, avoiding any burns. She sat with her legs crossed and closed her eyes. While she did feel guilty for what she did to stein, she did not feel the same guilt about Eruka and Free. They were her dolls. She was to do whatever she wanted with them.  
Using one of the snakes in Eruka's body, the which sent a message, summoning her puppet. Within a few seconds, the frog witch arrived, causing medusa to open her eyes and face her puppet.  
"You called, lady Medusa?" Eruka said, looking at the ground as a sign of what should've been respect, but was instead dominance.  
"Stay away from Death City. Don't go near it don't even speak of it." The witch commanded.  
"Tell free the do the same. I don't want either of you messing my plans up. I'll call on you if and only if I need you." Her face demonstrated the power she had over the two. Not a flash of guilt.  
"Yes, My Lady." The frog witch replied, changing into her frog form, hopping away, feeling the disgust towards the witch swell inside her.

Once Eruka had left, Medusa was once again on her own in the desert on the outskirts of Death City.  
She didn't yet know how she was going to keep going in unnoticed. Just to see him. To see the way his lips hugged the cigarette and released it for a bit, only to be caught by his teeth so he could exhale.  
The mere thought of Stein was enough to make Medusa mentally smile at herself, she could never do this I the outside.  
No.  
Her outside was to remain solid as a rock. Expression-free. She felt weak enough with her bare feelings towards the man.

The snake had no plan yet, she needed time. And she knew Stein would need some time as well.  
All she could do at the moment was sit in the desert and think.  
She couldn't use Crona as an excuse anymore.  
As much as it bothered her to say it out loud, she didn't think too much of the poor thing. He was made to be an experiment,not to be an actual human, never mind to have friends and get an education. She smiled to the shadows that fell across her face from her hood. She had a plan. A plan to bring Stein to her. A plan to drive Marie out of the picture.

Marie.. That woman.  
That woman,  
The one the witch _could_ not.. And _would_ not stand.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello there my fellow weapons and Meisters and Weapons. I'm sorry it has taken this long, but i've been procrastinating on everything. Have this and i hope it's to your liking!**

* * *

**Marie's POV**

Marie awoke in the sea of gray, white and black tones, and found herself in a island of purple, pink, and green. She was in Stein's room, the alarm blaring 6:30. It had been yelling for quite a while, but she had decide to ignore it, replacing it with the sounds of her light breaths, this time, she didn't ignore it, she couldn't, or she would be late. Instead, she stood up grabbed her towel and clothes, and headed to the shower.

Thirty minutes went by and she got out of the shower, she had expected to find that Stein had left for the school, but instead, she found him on the couch, casually sitting down and staring at the ceiling, arms spread over the top of the couch, cigarette rolling in his lip, and a cloud of smoke in the shape of a skull dissolving into the air above his head.

"STEIN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" Marie shouted enraged at the doctor.

"I thought you had an extra class with Soul and Maka this morning!"

Stein turned his head to look at Marie dead in the eye; he looked soul-less, with his vacant eyes, and his face with no emotion. Marie was scared, it was happening again, he was zoning out, leaving the reality world and gone to who knows where.

Panicked, she turned to the mirror hanging in the living room and dialed 42-42-564.

"Moshi Moshi" greeted the voice in the other end of the mirror, Lord Death, hand waving, saying hello. He dropped it as soon as he saw Marie's panic filled face.

"Death!" Marie exclaimed, eyes wild.

"Are you okay, Marie?"

"Stein... his eyes... once before.. . ?" Marie couldn't string her words together, they came at random, her panic mixing in with her worries.

"twist his screw to the right." Death commanded.

tears spilling from her eyes, Marie hurried to the Frankenstein and twisted the screw that was on the left side of his head to the right, dilating the Doctor's eyes once more.

"Do this if it happens again, i leave him in your hands, Marie." And with that, the mirror retured to normal, reflecting Marie holding Stein's face in place.

"we must go now, Stein, the kids are waiting." Marie said, taking the Doctor by the hand and leading him outside, walking in the direction of the school.

* * *

**Stein's POV**

He didn't really know what was going on. He was holding Marie's soft hands and walking towards the school.

She had been talking to Lord Death before they left, he couldn't think of a single reason why she would.

Her eyes were red and swollen. She has been crying.

Her palms were slippery with sweat. She was nervous and afraid.

Stein could sense it all and couldn't help but to wonder what had happened while he was asleep. He hoped it wasn't all because of him, he couldn't bare the thought of her pretty face ruined by tears he had brought.

He would never forgive himself.

She stopped, hands still together, He felt the tug of her pause and turned to face her.

"what's wrong, Marie? we're almost there, it's just around that corner" he chuckled, "for once, you were leading in the right direction!"

With that Marie burst into tears, she let go of his hand and sank to her knees, hands covering her face and muffling her sobs.

Instantly, Stein got on his knees and hugged Marie, wrapping his strong arms around her tiny frame. They sat in that position for a few minutes, Marie crying into Stein's chest with his arms around her. She finally stopped, but the hug remained intact. Slowly, he eased her up, taking her face in his hands and wiping away her tears with his thumbs, letting them trail down her cheeks, and resting them in her jaw, the rest of his fingers resting behind her ears. Their eyes locked as Stein closed the distance between them with a kiss.

She was stunned at first, but she eased into it, kissing him back with more urgency, as if begging for more. He gladly complied, kissing her back with the same urgency she had.

After a few moments, her eyes had gone dry, and their lips were bruised from the kissing, he stopped, looked form her bruised lips, to her nose, and finally finding her eyes.

He held her gaze, their faces only a few centimeters apart. Softly, he cooed into her ear;

"The kids are waiting, and we're late."


End file.
